title: Good health information--an asset not a burden!
abstract: Good health information is central to informing the delivery of health care. Health has mostly struggled to promote the effective use of information to manage services on a day to day basis. Based on the experience at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, a case is made for seeing information as an asset that requires a structured approach to improving data quality, and making a concerted effort to grow a more robust information culture. Transforming Health through better health information will not happen overnight. It needs a long range plan. It should be supported by appropriate business intelligence tools and a structured approach to process improvement, built around data management.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. ralphh@chw.edu.au
authors.forename: Ralph M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hanson
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D001315:Australia; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000592:standards*; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006801:Humans; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care